Babies of McLeod
by ilovenascar
Summary: The fourth installment in my 'Dreams' series. CA, TN
1. Chapter 1

Title: Babies of McLeod

Name: April

Summary: Really, shouldn't the title be enough?

* * *

Nick Ryan sat on the bed, leaning in to kiss his very pregnant wife. "I should be back in a few hours." She nodded, not really into talking the past week, a rarity for her. "I love you."

"I love you," Tess replied softly.

Nick kissed her stomach. "I love you both. Stay put until I return." He was hesitant about going anywhere this close to Tess's due date, especially since she was supposed to stay in bed as much as possible. She'd reached the nine month mark two days before, with twins no less, and she was exhausted, hurting all over. He felt guilty about leaving, but Wilgul needed supplies and he was going to pick up some for Kilarney as well. He kissed Tess's cheek again and went out to where Meg was making breakfast. "Thanks for keeping an eye on her."

"She'll be fine." Nick was jumpy, even more so than his brother. "We'll take good care of her."

"You always do." He didn't really remember Tess's mother; he'd been very young when Tess and Ruth had left Drover's. Claire's mother had died when Claire wasn't much older than Charlotte, so Meg had 'adopted' Claire and, when Tess returned to the property, Tess as well. He had no qualms about leaving her at Drover's as he would have if she'd been alone at Wilgul.

* * *

Alex Ryan reached out to his wife's side of the bed and found it empty. He opened his eyes, looking around the room to find her sitting in front of the open window in the clothes she'd slept in. "Claire, it's cold."

"I'm hot."

He left it alone, knowing it wouldn't do him any good to argue with her, especially not lately. "Hungry?" She made a face, causing him to frown. When she was pregnant with Charlotte, she hadn't been able to keep anything down, but, this time, she hadn't had one day of being sick...until today. "How long have you been up?"

"Awhile."

He nodded. "Why don't you stay up here, get some rest? I can go get Charlotte."

"I can do it." She got dressed, going to her daughter's room and he couldn't help but look upwards, as if asking for help, and dressed, going downstairs.

After Charlotte came downstairs, Claire took a tray to Tess. "How are you feeling?"

"Pregnant. You?"

"The same."

Tess nodded before letting all her doubts and fears spill as she always had with Claire. "Liz's words just keep running through my mind. I've never stuck with something for longer than nine months. Who am I to think I can do this for eighteen years? I mean, and what happens if Nick and I quarrel and I want to leave? I couldn't very well take the kids away from him like Mum did Jack. I'd be stuck. Or if I lose a child? An accident could happen to either of them. Maybe Nick was lucky; maybe one of mine could die." She looked at Claire, remembered the miscarriage, and knew she'd said too much. "Claire, I..."

"Tess, if you want me to tell you that you're doing the wrong thing, that there's an easy way out of this like there is everytime you get in too deep, I won't. You made a commitment to Nick, a commitment to your kids. You won't bail out when things get too real." She walked out of the room and out of the house.

Meg sighed. Claire always had a stubborn streak, but, with this pregnancy, it seemed that the further she got towards her due date, the harder she became to get along with. Of course, it didn't help that Tess was already becoming a nervous mother or that Charlotte could no longer sit on Claire's lap and Alex seemed a much more interesting playmate. "Meg..." Alex started.

"I'll finish up," she said, taking Alex's place with Charlotte. He went out of the house, to the corral where Claire was standing, her arms up on one of the rails, no longer able to climb up as she usually did, looking through at Phoenix.

"You want to ride her?" Alex asked, his arms enveloping both Claire and his child.

"You know I can't."

"You want to talk about what happened between you and Tess?"

She shrugged him off. "No."

He nodded, sensing the mood he'd finally learned meant 'I love you, but go away'. "I need to go help Amy at Kilarney today. Meg's going to be at the house with the girls. Why don't you take a walk? Might help you feel better." He kissed her cheek and returned to the house.

Meg looked up as he returned. "I'm going to Kilarney. Claire wants to go for a walk. Can you handle Tess?" Meg nodded. Alex picked Charlotte up. "You want to stay here with Meg and Aunt Tess?"

"No."

"Mum will be back in a bit."

"No."

She held on to him until he gave in, as he usually did. "You want to go see Aunt Amy and Ryan?" She looked at him. "With me?" She nodded. "Okay. Go get your gear." She ran to get her little bag she took everywhere with her, liking to carry it because it made her feel like a 'big girl'. "Say bye." Charlotte waved as Alex carried her out the door. "Claire." Claire turned around. "BOM's going too." She nodded, watching her husband and daughter drive out of sight, before she took a walk around the property.

Alex smiled as Charlotte shyly greeted her cousin. "Do you want to play with Ryan?" Charlotte paused. "I'll be right there." He pointed and she nodded. "Okay." He kissed into her hair, leaving her to play with her cousin in care of the nanny.

He smiled at his young tiny sister. When his father's will was first read, he couldn't believe that Drover's lead hand was Harry's daughter. It had taken him awhile to get used to her, as it did for him to get used to most changes. It was impossible not to like her though; she was the perfect mixture of his wife and sister-in-law: Tess's tiny features and big heart, Claire's passion for the land and its inhabitants. "Did you tell Claire why you came?" Amy McGregor asked, coming back up from the barn.

He shook his head. "Things have been so crazy lately. If she knew there was someone out there taking horses...especially if she knew Sandra was back in town..."

She brushed a strand of errant curly hair out of her face. "Now who's Sandra?" Claire had lived with or near her brothers since they were born, Tess for a few years, and she was still trying to catch up with all the stories.

"A girl Claire knew in school. Stole Claire's calves, something about cutting a pony's tail off, tried to date me, dated Dad...basically anything she could do to mess with Claire."

"Sounds like a handful. Where is she?"

"She used to have property in the area, before she and Dad broke up. She went away for awhile; she's living at the Gungellan Hotel now."

"How old is she?"

"Claire's age. Was her best friend in school until the infamous 'pony' incident. Please don't ask her about it." He accented the word please.

She laughed. "Sure." She looked up at the girls. "How's Charlotte holding up?"

He shook his head. "Claire was taking a walk, but Charlotte wouldn't even stay with Meg and Tess. I think because both Claire and Tess are to the point right now that it's hard to play with her, she wants a playmate."

"Today Ryan's it," she said, referring to her only daughter, almost a year younger than Charlotte.

He nodded. "It's been me. Nick and Meg occasionally, but usually me."

She nodded, getting back on the subject of why she'd asked him over. "The constable's supposed to come. Could you stay? You know everyone around here better than I do. I hate to ask..."

"Don't worry about it. Have you tried the chopper? You might could spot them from the air."

"No. No way. No, that's your and Nick's doing..."

He smiled. "Tess is afraid of heights too." Claire wasn't, though; she loved going up with him.

"I'm not afraid of heights; I'm afraid of choppers or planes. I don't mind looking down; I mind not being in control."

"I could teach you how to fly."

"As long as gravity still works, here I am and here I'll stay." He smiled at her, going to check on the chopper.

* * *

Claire returned to the yard, willing to admit that she could have been a better sister, but also exhausted. Walking seemed to burn up all her energy these days. She noticed Alex's ute wasn't back yet so she started towards the corral, to at least visit Phoenix if she couldn't ride. The corral was empty and she went to investigate the barn. The horses were still there, but four men were too, each with shotguns.

"Claire."

She looked at the man speaking, unable to place the name, but not caring. "What are you doing?" She wished that she had a shotgun, a stick, anything. She had a pocketknife in her boot, but couldn't get down to get it.

"Don't you recognize me?"

* * *

Nick arrived in Gungellan and went to pick up the supplies for Kilarney first. He tensed when he saw Sandra Kinsella, also buying supplies. "Nick." She smiled at him. "Congratulations to you and Tess. A baby. That's really...something."

It took all he had to greet her politely, but it was blown a minute later. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, my new husband and I are moving back home. I am sorry to hear about Harry. Did he..."

"You weren't mentioned in the will, no." His questions about who would actually marry her were answered in the next minute when an all-too familiar face came in.

"Nick," Peter Johnson came in with a smug and satisfied look on his face.

"I thought you went back to your wife and children."

"My girls are at school. How's my daughter?"

"You'd know that better than I would." They hadn't seen Peter since his father's funeral and the anger about Harry's heart attack and Peter's actions still remained. He refused to think of Charlotte as anything but Alex and Claire's daughter, but knew the law didn't see it that way.

"And Claire? I hear she and your brother are finally starting a family of their own. Maybe that he's managed to get Claire pregnant, he won't need my child to make him feel like a father." Nick took a swing, hitting Peter in the stomach, and the brawl was on.


	2. Chapter 2

Meg came to check on Tess and found her as white as a sheet. "Tess?" 

"Where's Claire?"

"Taking a walk. Do you hurt?" Tess nodded. "Where?"

"My back. I think it's contractions again."

"Okay." She tried to make her comfortable. "I'm going to call the doctor and be right back."

"I want Claire and Nick."

"I'll see if I can get Claire. Nick should be back anytime now." It had been four hours; surely it should only take Nick another hour, tops. He should be back in plenty of time for the babies to be born.

Tess nodded. Meg made the phone call and looked out, calling for Claire. When there was no answer, Meg went back to Tess. "I'm sure they'll both be back shortly." She wiped Tess's forehead and cheek. "How far are the contractions apart?"

"Five minutes."

* * *

Alex watched the constable leave and started to say something when his brother's ute drove up the driveway. He couldn't help but be amused when he saw his brother's appearance. "Amy, can you help?" Nick asked.

Amy went in to get her first aid kit. "What happened?" She asked, coming back out.

Nick looked at Alex. "Peter's back in town."

"So is Sandra," Alex said.

"They're married."

"WHAT?" Alex roared.

"Daddy," Charlotte pulled on Alex's leg and he picked her up, blowing kisses on her stomach until she giggled. He hugged her, needing her laughter.

"So her worst enemy married..." Amy began

"A nob," Nick cleaned up his language in front of his baby sister and niece, but not willing to call Peter Charlotte's father. He was of the firm belief that Claire and Alex hadn't been lying when Alex had said he was Charlotte's father, even if they hadn't known it at the time.

"She'll be thrilled," Alex said sarcastically. "Hey, why aren't you home?"

"I wanted to get cleaned up before Tess saw me."

"He do that to you?"

Nick nodded, not wanting to get into what Peter had said. "I started it. Another reason why I didn't want to go home."

Alex nodded. "The girls don't need the aggravation. I was about to go up in the 'copter. You want to go?"

"Sure."

Alex kissed Charlotte's head, handing her back to Amy. "Be right back, then we'll go find Mum." He walked to the helicopter with his brother, flying over the land until he saw a familiar sight. "Nick." He pointed.

"Blaze and Phoenix." There were other horses, some he recognized from Drover's or Amy's horse from Kilarney. He spotted three riders behind them.

Alex spotted them as well. "Call Kilarney. Get some men out here." One of the riders looked up and took a few shots at the helicopter.

* * *

Amy walked back inside the house to get the phone, Charlotte following. "Kilarney."

Meg took a look at Tess. "Amy, it's Meg. Is Alex there?"

"He and Nick went in the chopper to do something for me. Everything okay?"

"Tess is in labor and I can't find Claire. I've called the doctor, but they won't be here for hours." A first-year vet wasn't exactly a doctor, Drover's wasn't a hospital, but it was more than Claire had at Charlotte's birth.

"I'll get word to the boys and then come over." She hung up, telling Terry Dodge and her nanny what was going on, then taking Charlotte back over to Drover's with her.


	3. Chapter 3

Alex managed to land the chopper safely only to be met by guns. "What'll we do with them?" 

"We kill 'em, leave 'em out here, we don't get caught. Joe can let that girl go."

"What girl?" Alex asked, knowing Claire wouldn't have let any horse, much less Blaze and Phoenix, go without a fight.

"Wouldn't ya love to know?"

"Alex..." Nick said warningly under his breath. He knew his brother's temper and, knowing how much Claire loved her horses, was thinking the same thing his brother was, but didn't want Alex causing more trouble.

Terry and some of the other men from Kilarney came up shooting in the air, distracting the thieves long enough for Alex and Nick to jump them, tying them up like the calves they used to rope. "The constable's coming. We'll stay here. Can the chopper move?" Alex shook his head. "Meg called before we left. Tess is in labor and she can't find Claire." Alex mounted Phoenix, knowing Blaze well enough to know she was so spooked, she'd only let Claire ride her. Nick borrowed Amy's horse and they took off through the fields to Drover's, Blaze following.

The boys put the horses in the corral when they arrived, seeing Amy's ute there, but not stopping to pay attention. "Daddy!" Alex picked Charlotte up, kissing her cheek. "Auntie Tess is sick."

"She's going to have your baby cousins." Nick went into Tess's room. "You want to go outside?" She nodded and he carried her to the porch where she could play with Roy.

Meg joined them. "There's not time to get Tess to a hospital."

He nodded. "She'll have the babies at Drover's. Claire had Charlotte here."

She nodded. "I don't know where she is, Alex." She paused. "Did you catch the horse thieves?"

He looked at her. "Did you tell Claire they were stealing horses?"

"She knows. Doesn't know Sandra's back yet."

"Why didn't she tell me?"

"She knew you've been worried, about all of it." She paused. "I checked the barn, I checked the yard, I was afraid to get too far away in case Tess needed me."

He nodded. "One of them said that Joe could let that girl go. She's got to be hidden around here somewhere." He walked towards the sheds.

"Daddy!" Charlotte saw he was leaving again and ran after him.

He picked her up. "I'm sorry, BOM. Not this time. You need to stay here with Meg and Roy."

"No."

"Yes." He kissed her forehead and put her back down. "I'll be back with your mum in a little bit, I promise." He walked away, not wanting to see her reaction, knowing Meg would take care of her.

* * *

Nick kissed Tess's forehead, sitting on the bed beside her. "Sorry I'm late."

She touched his face. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'll tell you later, I promise."

"It's not the hospital."

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "I wanted them born here."

He wasn't surprised. Despite her initial urge to sell the property, she'd grown to love it as much as Claire did. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"I don't know." She grabbed his hand as another contraction hit her and he let her hold as tight as she needed, gently stroking her hand, breathing with her.

* * *

Alex searched every building in the yard at Drover's, the sheds, the empty shearing quarters, even the barn again. The only other place he knew about was the building out where they'd buried her father. He got in the Drover's ute and drove down, not knowing what he planned on doing, only he planned on walking out of there with his wife.

"Claire?" He called into the building. He heard crying and forced open the door, afraid of what he'd find. When he saw the red-tinged water, how much she was hurting, his mind flashed back to the miscarriage.

"What are you doing here?"

"Let my wife go."

"I can't do that."

Alex stepped forward and the man saw the look in his eyes, the same one he'd given Peter after Claire's riding accident. The man took off running and Alex bent down to stroke Claire's hair. "Hold on, okay?" She nodded, putting her arms around him as he picked her up, carrying her out.


	4. Chapter 4

Meg spotted Alex coming up to the house. "Charlotte, go get your horse and your blanket, okay?" The little girl nodded, going to find where she'd put the stuffed horse and her blue blanket with the horses on it. 

Meg held the doors open so Alex could carry Claire into the house, to the old couch they'd moved into Jack's office, Claire unwilling to part with it. "She was bleeding; she's hurting."

Meg nodded. "Get a cold cloth for her head." He nodded, running to get it, bringing it back. "Claire?"

Claire opened her eyes. "The baby."

"Is eager to get here...and stay here...just like his mum." Alex and Claire hadn't wanted to know the baby's sex this time, but most of the time, the baby was referred to as a little boy.

"Alex..."

Alex stroked her hair. "I'm here, Claire."

"Blaze."

"They're okay. She's in the corral."

"Tess."

Amy came to stand in the doorway, hearing Claire's question, nodding at Meg. "Tess is fine, Claire," Meg said quietly. "You're an aunt."

Claire winced, balling her hand up. "Here. Hold mine." Alex picked Claire's hand up, holding it. "Breathe." He breathed with her as Amy checked on her. "The blood was her water breaking. It might have had a red tint to it. From what I can tell, everything's okay. Just a little early."

"I'll go check on Tess, keep an eye on Charlotte," Meg said, standing.

Alex looked up at her briefly. "Thanks, Meg." She left and he turned his attention back to Claire, still wiping her forehead, holding her hand, breathing with her.

"It shouldn't take much longer. I can see the head," Amy said.

Claire turned, throwing up. "Oh, no."

"I'll get it later," Alex told her. "Don't worry about it. Just breathe." She looked like she was about to cry. "Tell me the story about Jack's desk," he said, trying to soothe her, knowing how much she loved the desk that her father and now she used, that she used to play under with Tess, that Tess had carved on.

* * *

Meg kneeled beside Charlotte, who was holding her stuffed horse to her cheek. "Hey."

"Is Mommy sick?"

"She'll be okay." She stroked the horse's mane. "Auntie Tess and Uncle Nick want you to come meet someone." She extended her hand, which Charlotte took.

Tess smiled as Charlotte came to the doorway. Nick handed the bundle he was holding back to Tess, clearing his lap, extending a hand to his niece. "You wanna come meet your cousins?" She climbed into his lap and he hugged her.

"They're beautiful," Meg smiled.

"Pretty," Charlotte smiled.

"Yeah, pretty like your Auntie Tess," Nick said, causing Tess to smile again.

Meg looked at the babies, both identical. "They look exactly like you when you were born," Meg said. She couldn't have been prouder of Tess and Claire if they were her 'real' daughters and, despite her doubts before Charlotte was born, loved being 'Grandma Meg'. "What did you name them?"

"Ruth McLeod and Marion Louise," Nick said proudly.

"They're beautiful." They heard the ambulance come up, siren blaring.


	5. Chapter 5

Tess entered the hospital room, not unlike the one she'd been in many times before. It always amazed her how frail her sister looked in the hospital, pale and still. Alex sat by Claire's bed, looking tired, but holding her hand, stroking her hair, staring at her as if he were trying to give some of his strength to her. "Alex?" 

Alex turned, surprised to see Tess there, although he didn't know why. Claire would have done anything to be with Tess if the situation were reversed. "Hey. Sit." She pulled a chair up next to Claire. "Where's Nick?"

"Meg came with me; he stayed with the babies." She hadn't pictured going anywhere the day her little girls were born, but Claire needed her.

"Are they okay?"

Tess nodded. "Two little girls. Small, but perfect. Identical." She watched her sister. "What about Claire?"

"Tired, but she'll be okay. They like the baby's chances...I think he'll be okay. After all, he's Claire's and my son...gotta be stubborn, right?"

Tess managed a smile as her sister spoke. "Alex."

"I'm here, Claire," he whispered. "Tess is too."

"Baby."

"He's okay. He's sleeping."

"Meg's keeping an eye out for him," Tess reassured her.

"Charlotte?"

"Nick's watching her." Tess looked up and Alex nodded. "She's at home with her cousins."

"Babies..."

"Yeah." She anticipated her sister's next question. "They're okay, I'm okay, Charlotte's a bit spooked but as soon as she sees her mum and dad again, she'll be fine too."

"Home..."

"Not yet, Claire. Soon. You and the baby will both come home soon..." Alex whispered to her as she fell asleep again.

* * *

True to his word, Alex brought Claire and the baby home, sooner than the doctor had initially predicted. He got Claire and the baby settled with Tess and the twins before going upstairs. "Charlotte?"

Almost before he got the word out, the sleepy little girl ran to him, almost knocking him down. "Daddy!"

He picked her up, hugging her. "Your mum's home. Your baby brother too." She looked excited when he mentioned her mother's return, not so much when he mentioned her baby brother. "What?"

"He made Mum sick."

"No, he didn't." He sat down, holding her on his lap. "Your mum just needed her rest. Your brother's really little. Your mum and me are going to need some help watching over him."

"Do you watch over Uncle Nick?"

He paused. "Not as much as your mum watches over Auntie Tess."

Nick smiled, joining them. "That's the truth. But you're going to be a great big sister, like your mum, like your dad's a pretty good big brother." Alex smiled, standing back up. "Just don't try to run his life or fight him every ten seconds." Alex gave Nick a look, but smiled and went downstairs with him.

"Mum!" Charlotte ran to her mother and Alex helped her sit on the other half of Claire's lap. Charlotte had expected someone who looked like her cousins. Her little brother was tiny, almost unseen in the blue blanket surrounding him.

"There you are," Claire gave her a one-sided hug. "I missed you." Charlotte kissed her cheek, but kept trying to open the blanket to see her brother. "Wait." Claire moved the blanket so that it was still warming the baby but Charlotte and Nick could see the new addition, neither meeting him before.

The baby was tiny with brown hair. Charlotte made a face, not sure she liked him, until he openedthe blue eyes thathe'd gotten from their mother at her. Charlotte smiled. "Hi, baby." The others smiled, watching.

"What'd you name him?" Nick asked, not knowing if they'd been able to pick out a name yet. Charlotte's name had been awhile in coming.

"John Harrison Ryan," Alex said, standing behind his wife,watching his children.

Tess looked at them. "Jack." Claire nodded and Tess smiled.

"What about you guys?" Alex asked, sitting in the chair next to his family.

"Ruth McLeod Ryan," Tess said proudly, leaving the other one up to Nick, whose idea it had been.

"Marion Louise Ryan," Nick said, trying to hide a smile.

Claire tried not to laugh, loving the idea, remembering when she'd found out Alex's middle name. "Well, we wanted her named after her aunt and uncle. I suggested Alexandra," Tess said. She had suggested Alexandra, but she'd liked the idea of Marion better. "We'll call her Mary."

* * *

Alex put Charlotte down for her nap and joined Claire for one of his own. She moved against him and he wrapped his arm around her, secure with each other. "Marion..." He muttered.

She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "It's cute."

"Why on earth would parents do that to a kid?" She smiled. "Tired?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah." He kissed her neck. "It's good to have you home."

"Good to be home." She looked at him. "What?"

"I almost lost you and Jack both."

"It couldn't have been helped, Alex, and we're here. Everyone's okay. Charlotte's in her bed having a nap, Jack's in his crib, doing the same, and you're up worrying. If I've learned anything, it's that we need to sleep while they're sleeping."

He kissed her forehead. "You were in the hospital three months with Charlotte, a month with Jack..."

"You're not going to lose me. C'mon. We'll get some sleep." She lay her head on his chest, letting the sounds of his heart beating and him breathing lull her to sleep as he rested his head on top of hers, trying to close his eyes.


End file.
